French economist Thomas Pikettys book Capital in the 21st Century has become a modern cult classic on the raging debate on economic growth models, income inequalities and the intrinsic exponential value of private wealth accumulation. As Prime Minister Narendra Modi of the BJP takes charge amid a rising crescendo of unrestricted free-capitalism from his inner-circle advisers, the issue of Indias rising disparities naturally assumes center-stage. To understand India is like solving the Rubiks cube with one hand tied. Perhaps someone might through sheer fluke or a rare incisive insight and skill, but an overwhelming 99.99% will be flummoxed by Indias incredible contradictions, abundant with sublime absurdities. Let me explain. Around the same time that the Archaeological Survey of India was digging for 1000 tons of gold worth a whopping $40 billion under a Lord Shiva temple in Unnao, Uttar Pradesh thanks to a priests majestic premonition, 16,000 of Indias outstanding engineers had successfully launched Mangalyaan, a rocket to Mars, joining an elite western club in space research. The gold, of course, could have solved the intractable challenge of the current account deficit that has so paralyzed brilliant economists. It did not. And there were some who were outraged that India spent Rs. 460 crore on the Mars trip; they feel less agitated when the controversial financial firm Sahara buys an IPL cricket team for nearly four times the value. Dogged superstition and impeccable science coexist in the great land where the Indus Valley Civilization once flourished. Five-star hotels are proliferating even while 620 million people defecate in the open every single morning. India is self-sufficient in food-grain production yet 42% of its children under the age of five years suffer from serious malnourishment. Among the many critics of the states subsidy for the poor are those who are members of swank air-conditioned gyms trudging wearily on treadmills to fight obesity. The Khans - Shah Rukh, Aamir and Salman - rule Indian hearts and Bollywood, but a relatively less popular actor Emran Hashmi struggles to get an apartment in Mumbai because he is a Muslim. Free-market fundamentalists get a migraine attack when the government announces the Right To Food providing for subsidized food to 800 million people, considered by them as wasteful expenditure, even as they lament farmer suicides, starvation deaths and the rising risk of Maoism. A world-class player in a team sport Sachin Tendulkar gets an unparalleled rousing farewell while a world champion in a solo event, chess, Vishwanathan Anand is pushed to the back-pages. While 70% of Indias GDP comes from urban India, 70% of its people live in villages. The list is endless. Clearly, India has three classes of people; the haves, have-nots and have yachts. Sanjay Jha. *** enjoy the prose . Ignore the potshots at BJP by this congress spokesperson.
Posted on: Fri, 30 May 2014 15:33:00 +0000
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